The Canadian Income Tax Act (ITA) was enhanced to incorporate the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) in 2014 and the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) in 2017. The ITA describes the due diligence and reporting obligations that arise by virtue of the implementation of FATCA and CRS in Canada.

The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act ("FATCA") is U.S. tax legislation passed in 2010. FATCA is intended to prevent "U.S. persons" (individuals and entities) from evading U.S. tax using financial accounts held outside of the United States.

On February 5, 2014, the Canadian Government signed an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with the U.S. Government. Without an agreement in place, obligations to comply with FATCA would have been imposed on Canadian Financial Institutions and our customers as of July 1, 2014. Under the agreement, Financial Institutions in Canada will not report any information directly to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Rather, information on accounts held by U.S. persons will be reported to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). The CRA will then exchange the information with the IRS through the existing provisions and safeguards of the Canada-U.S. Tax Convention, which is consistent with Canada's privacy laws. In addition, Canada negotiated significant exemptions (please refer to "Which financial accounts are excluded"). The agreement is consistent with Canada’s support for recent G-8 and G-20 commitments intended to fight tax evasion globally and to improve tax fairness.

If you are not a U.S. person, FATCA will have limited impact on you. In some circumstances, you may be required to provide additional documentation (this could include, but is not limited to, government-issued identification) to verify your status for FATCA purposes.

If you are a U.S. person, you will be required to complete a Tax Form.

Every Canadian FI will be required to comply with the federal legislation that implements the IGA. FIs in non-IGA countries that do not comply with FATCA may be subject to a 30% withholding tax on U.S. source income.

If you are an accountholder that is an individual (including sole proprietorships) or an entity (i.e. businesses, trusts, etc.);

If you have an existing financial account or you are opening a new account

TD may ask you to provide additional information or documentation to verify your status for FATCA purposes for any of the scenarios above. If you do not provide this additional documentation upon request, TD may be required to report your account information to the CRA.

Under the IGA, there is information that you may have provided to TD that may give reason to believe you are a U.S. person (i.e. U.S. address, U.S. place of birth, U.S. telephone number, U.S. place of incorporation, etc.).

Under the regulations, all business accounts are required to declare the classification of the entity as, among other things, either an "Active Non-Financial Foreign (non-U.S.) Entity (NFFE)" or a "Passive NFFE" on either an IRS W8-BEN-E or an equivalent form created by the financial institution (in TD's case, a Self-Certification Form – Entity "SCE"). Where an entity is a Passive NFFE, TD is required by the regulations to identify the entity's controlling persons and to determine whether any such person is a U.S. person.

a financial institution and, if so, which type of financial institution; or

a non-financial foreign entity (or NFFE) and, if so, whether it is a passive NFFE (for a definition of passive NFFE, please refer to page 3 in the attached link).

If the account holder is a passive NFFE, the entity must identify the controlling persons (the natural persons who exercise control over an entity) associated with the account. A Financial Institution must then determine if any controlling persons on the account are U.S. persons.

No, under the regulations, individual and entity customers must comply with additional requests for information from TD. If this additional documentation is not received upon request, TD may be required to report your account information to the CRA.

All accountholders of the joint account may be required to provide additional documentation to determine their status for U.S. tax purposes. Information on the U.S. person, including the full balance of the account, may be reportable to the CRA.

Generally, if you were born in the U.S., you are considered a U.S. person. However, there are circumstances where an individual born in the U.S. is not considered a U.S. person, including those who have renounced their U.S. citizenship and have obtained a Certificate of Loss of Nationality issued by the United States Department of State or in a manner that meets the requirements prescribed by U.S. law.

TD may contact you if we require additional documentation to determine if you are a U.S person.

Yes, Financial Institutions in Canada do provide information to the Canadian and U.S. governments under current tax laws and treaties. Please refer to the Department of Finance website for a list of current agreements.

Under the IGA, Financial Institutions in Canada are not required to report any information directly to the IRS. Rather, information on reportable accounts is to be submitted to the CRA. The CRA will then exchange the information with the IRS through existing provisions and safeguards under the Canada-U.S. Tax Convention, which is consistent with Canada's privacy laws.

FATCA documentation is completed at the account holder level. We rely on the account holder to complete the forms for any account(s) in question. We will clearly state which party needs to complete a form or provide further documentation.

TD Bank will attempt to consolidate customer account information to the extent allowable. You may receive additional requests for documentation if you have multiple products with TD Bank. You must complete each request.

Under Part XVIII of the Income Tax Act, TD may be required to report certain information on U.S. persons or customers that do not respond to TD's request for information, to their federal tax authority (i.e. CRA). This information may be exchanged with the IRS as part of the agreement.

The U.S government imposes tax on the worldwide income of U.S. persons regardless of where they live. Most U.S. persons living in Canada have annual U.S. income tax filing and reporting requirements. If you are, or suspect you may be a U.S. person for U.S. tax purposes, you should speak with a professional tax advisor with expertise in U.S. tax filing and reporting requirements on your investments held at TD.

It depends on the circumstances of the account. There may be situations where you must provide documentation for both account holders and other circumstances where documentation is only needed for one account holder.

TD will contact customers who must complete documentation for FATCA purposes.

Even though your account is closed, you were identified as a possible U.S. person before closing your account. TD has the obligation to properly document the account. If you do not provide this documentation upon request, TD may be required to report your account information to the CRA.

A tax form is a legal document and must be completed in ink. Liquid paper (or white out), pencil, and pre-filled stickers or stamps are not acceptable; please complete a new form. Forms are available for download here.

A Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) is an ID number that is used by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the administration of tax laws (similar to a SIN in Canada). Both the Social Security Administration (SSA) and the IRS issue a TIN.

A Global Intermediary Identification Number (GIIN) is a 16 digit, 19-character identification number issued by the IRS when a non-U.S. Financial Institution registers for FATCA purposes. Most Canadian Financial Institutions are required to obtain a GIIN.

The above information is intended to provide general guidance only, and is not an exhaustive analysis of all provisions of FATCA. The above information should not be construed as legal or financial advice.

The Common Reporting Standard (CRS) was introduced by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) through an update to the Standard for Automatic Exchange of Financial Information. CRS is intended to prevent offshore tax evasion and maintain the integrity of the tax systems through the automatic exchange of information around the world.

CRS is aimed at identifying and reporting financial accounts held by foreign tax residents. CRS reporting is solely based on tax residency, not citizenship or nationality and impacts approximately 100 jurisdictions (as of March 2017).

FATCA is aimed at identifying and reporting financial accounts held by specified U.S. persons (which includes U.S. citizenship and U.S. tax residency).

One important difference between CRS and FATCA is that FATCA provides exemptions for certain small accounts (below a U.S. $50,000 threshold) held by individuals, while CRS does not.

A participating jurisdiction is a country which has entered into an agreement with other jurisdictions (e.g. Canada and the UK) to collect and share information. Currently, there are approximately 100 participating jurisdictions.

Yes, certain financial institutions do provide information to their federal tax authority (e.g. CRA) under current tax laws and treaties. Please refer to the Department of Finance website for a list of current agreements between the Government of Canada and other countries.

Yes, personal and financial information on reportable accounts will be submitted by the financial institution to their relevant federal tax authority (e.g. CRA). The federal tax authority will then share the information with the appropriate countries through existing provisions and safeguards, consistent with privacy laws (see the Government of Canada SIN disclosure for more information).

Protecting our customers' privacy and the confidentiality of their personal information are fundamental principles of TD. For more information on how TD collects, uses and/or discloses your information, please access the Privacy provisions at the following link:TD Privacy Code

All new individual or entity accountholders and existing accountholders (as applicable) will be asked to provide additional information or documentation to verify their tax residence status. If you do not provide this additional information or documentation upon request, TD may be required to report your account information to the appropriate federal tax authority (e.g. CRA), who may then share your information with other countries. The federal tax authority will determine if you will be subject to fines or penalties.

CRS regulation provides guidance as to what type of account information may be considered indicators of foreign tax resident status. Under CRS regulations, there may be information that you have provided to TD that may give TD reason to believe you are a foreign tax resident (e.g. non-Canadian address, non-Canadian telephone number, non-Canadian place of incorporation, etc.).

If you do not provide the required tax information or documentation upon request, TD may be required to report your account information to the appropriate federal tax authority (e.g. CRA), who may then share your information with other countries. The federal tax authority will determine if you will be subject to fines or penalties.

No; however, you are required to notify TD within 30 days if you have changed your address or if you are now a resident for tax purposes in a country not previously declared on your Tax Residency Self-Certification Form.

Financial Institutions have the option of including the tax residence questions within their existing account opening process and documents, creating a CRS form, or using the Government form. TD has chosen to create a customized form (Tax Residency Self-Certification Form) suited for our processes and technology; however, TD will accept the CRA form.

An individual or entity customer must positively affirm that the information provided on the Tax Residency Self-Certification Form is correct. This "positive affirmation" is generally obtained through a signature on a form; however, it could be through an online disclosure (for personal customers only) or a verbal recorded declaration (for individual, sole proprietor, and certain entity customers).

TD will attempt to consolidate customer account information to the extent allowable. You may receive additional requests for documentation if you have multiple products with TD. You must complete each request.

While a Tax Residency Self-Certification Form does not expire, you must notify TD within 30 days with supporting documentation (which may result in completing a new Tax Residency Self-Certification Form) if your tax residence status changes.

You must complete the Tax Residency Self-Certification Form independently. If you need additional support, you should refer to a tax professional for assistance or contact the Canada Revenue Agency (for Canadian operations only).

Yes, if you have both a personal and business account with TD, as CRS documentation is completed at the customer level and therefore, separate forms will be required. However, TD will clearly state when documentation is required from a customer.

Generally, an individual will be a tax resident of a country if, under the laws of that country, they pay or should be paying tax there because of their domicile, residence, or a similar criterion.

Generally, an entity will be a tax resident of a jurisdiction if, under the laws of that jurisdiction, it pays or should be paying tax there because of its domicile, residence, place of management or incorporation, or a similar criterion.

a partnership, a limited partnership, or a similar legal arrangement is considered to reside in the jurisdiction where its place of management is located;

a trust is considered to reside in the jurisdiction where its place of management and control is located; and

an entity that is a "United States person" is a tax resident of the United States.

Yes, based on the domestic rules of certain countries, an accountholder may be considered a tax resident in more than one country. In that case, accountholders may check whether both countries have a double tax treaty in place, which would attribute the tax residence exclusively to one of the countries.

Customers are recommended to consult with a tax professional for information specific to their situation.

If TD is given reason to believe that the Tax Residency Self-Certification Form that a customer previously completed is unreliable (e.g. customer claimed Canada as their only tax residence; however, there is a U.K. address on file), then TD must obtain either:

A new Tax Residency Self-Certification Form that establishes all of the accountholder's residence(s) for tax purposes (including the one on file); or

A reasonable explanation and documentation (as appropriate) to support the validity of the existing Tax Residency Self-Certification Form

TD will request any documentation that is required to support the explanation requested; however, it is recommended that you consult with a tax professional to confirm the explanation which may apply within the applicable tax country(s).

Yes, you are not generally required to complete a form for registered products. However, for non-registered products, individual and entity customers must provide the tax residence information to TD. If this documentation is not received upon request, TD may be required to report your account information to the federal tax authority (e.g. CRA).

Even though your account is closed to date, you were identified as a possible foreign tax resident during our review. TD has the obligation to properly document the account. If you do not provide this documentation upon request, TD may be required to report your account information to the federal tax authority (e.g. CRA).

Every FI has an obligation to appropriately document new customers by obtaining their tax residence information during the account opening process; however, information provided by customers with existing accounts could vary among FIs and each FI has different business and system processes to identify foreign tax residents. Please refer to "What factors make TD think I am a tax resident of a foreign country?".

All Financial Institutions, including TD, must determine whether an entity accountholder is:

a foreign tax resident; and

a financial institution and, if so, which type of financial institution; or

a non-financial entity (or NFE) and, if so, whether it is a Passive NFE

If the accountholder is a Passive NFE or an Investment Entity in a Non-Participating country, the entity must identify the controlling persons (the natural persons who exercise control over an entity) associated with the account. A Financial Institution must then determine if any controlling persons on the account are foreign tax residents.

Entity classification is required, regardless if foreign information is present on the entity account.

The above information is intended to provide general guidance only, and is not an exhaustive analysis of all provisions of CRS. The above information should not be construed as legal or financial advice.